


Replacing the Black

by fannishliss



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen, Women of Supernatural
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-14
Updated: 2013-10-14
Packaged: 2017-12-28 18:00:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/994873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fannishliss/pseuds/fannishliss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Andrea Barr from 1.3 Dead in the Water</p>
            </blockquote>





	Replacing the Black

The chili was on the back burner, simmering.  She’s started it yesterday when she got the call, figuring it was something that would keep till they got here.  The warm smell of meat and beans, garlic and chili and oregano and cumin, filled the house:  comfort, welcome, family.  It wasn’t too often now she got out the seven quart dutch oven she’d learned to cook in – three pounds of ground beef, three bigs cans of dark red kidney beans, and two tablespoons of tabasco on top of the three teaspoons of black pepper. 

She had everything ready for cornbread too, cheddar cheese, saltines, and a salad for Sam.

Andrea couldn’t be sure when they’d arrive, but she knew they’d be hungry. Jerky and peanut m&ms only took you so far, despite their cavalier attitude, she knew they’d appreciate a real, hearty, home cooked meal.  Besides, it was Lucas’s favorite meal too.

Andrea paused as a wave of gratitude and grief passed through her, warring for control of her tears. Her dad’s death had hit her harder in a way than her husband’s had:  a hero in the end, sacrificing himself to save Lucas – but a childhood bully and a coward, never owning up to what he had done?  It was hard to rationalize away.  As much as she missed him, he would never again be the man in her heart, no longer the man she had idolized as a child, representative of justice, of everything good and true.

Although she blushed a bit to admit it, she thought of someone else in those terms now.

Speak of the devil, she heard the rumbling roar and crunch of gravel as the Impala pulled up in the driveway.

Sneakers came pounding down the stairs as Lucas dashed out.  It wouldn’t be long now till he was too cool for such outward displays, but on this day “Dean! Sam!”  rang out as he greeted the two coolest guys on the planet.

Andrea remembered how she used to have to buy a new box of crayons every week, just to replace the black that Lucas used up, trying desperately to render the maelstrom of horror in his mind.  After the Winchesters drove away, she still needed to keep buying crayons for a while, but Lucas was using up the black for a different reason:  he was never satisfied with how black he could make his portrait of the Impala.

The lake was dry now, deaths receding into the past, and the heroes were here, unsung, but ready for chili. They came striding in, larger than life as always.

“Hey Andrea,” Sam said, smiling, as she hugged him. He passed her a six pack of beer for the fridge.

Dean hung back, but accepted her hug, his smile shy and real. “Hey, you look great,” he said.  He felt solid in her arms, smelled like the road, and hugged her back with his strong, strong arms.

They sat down at the table, and Dean ruffled Lucas’s hair, which was cut like Sam’s used to be.

“Gettin a little shaggy there, sport?”  Dean teased, and Lucas nodded.

“I’m learning to play the guitar, now I’m ten!”

“Awesome, man! You learn Stairway yet?”

“I can play the whole first part!”

Andrea and Sam exchanged an amused glance at Dean’s enthusiasm.

After eating, Dean took Lucas out to the car, to show him what he’d done to it recently.

“How are you, Sam?  Really.”

“We’re okay.  There’s always a lot, you know?  But right now, we’re together, we’re alive... what more can you ask?”

Andrea didn’t like the deep weariness she saw in Sam’s eyes, but there wasn’t a lot she could do about it, except just what she did.  There was always room in her home for Winchesters, always a seat at the table.

“Who’s ready for pie?”

Dean and Lucas both yelled back, “me!” and came in, laughing.

 

 

 

   
   



End file.
